Page 30 of Once Upon a Reckless Rogue

“Me too. It will take all I have left of the milk of the poppy to kill it, and it will more than likely take hours. I would not want that for this poor old man.”

Tomas started to unharness the donkey and led it over to the shade of a small tree. It stumbled trying to keep the weight off its back leg. Elena examined the limb and found that the snake had bitten him twice before Tomas killed it. She crossed herself, thankful that Tomas had not been walking on the right side of the donkey. If he had this would have been him. When she looked up, it was to find Tomas looking down at his palm with her small knife in it.

“Could we cut the wound to let some blood out and do a tourniquet so the poison travels no further?”

She frowned. “Maybe.”

“Do you have anything we could use?”

She ran back to her bag, which had slid off the cart, and rummaged around until she found a bandage, noting it was her last one, and ran back to the donkey, who was still hee-hawing in distress. She tied the bandage as tight as she could above the knee and then put her hand up and Tomas placed the small dagger in her hand.

“Hold him tight, Tomas.”

Elena cut the bite marks, and the donkey kicked out in pain as blood flowed down its leg. “Shh,” she said, patting its side and checking for any other bites. This was a risk. The donkey was old, and the poison would make his passing painful. “If this does not work, we will have to put him down. It is not fair to let him die in agony.”

Tomas nodded as he spoke softly to the donkey, who calmed under his touch. Without the donkey their journey would be so much more difficult and they would have to leave some of their belongings behind.

She gave him a little milk of the poppy. Not enough to make him sleep but enough to calm him. “And now we wait and see how much of the poison has gotten into his system.”

So, they sat and waited. When the donkey began to sway on his feet, what they had feared was coming true. He went down with a thud, and Elena’s heart ached for the poor animal. They had not been able to stop the venom from entering his system after all.

Thomas listened to Elena whispering endearments in Spanish. It was like listening to a poem. If he were dying, he would want her to talk to him like this. Perhaps she had when he was near death back in that crumbling old fort. What a sight she made sitting in the dirt with a donkey’s head in her lap as she patted it, and all the while its whole body was quivering and spasming as the poison took hold.

“He might still be able to fight it; if he were younger, I would be more confident, but I think we should…put him out of his misery.”

“I agree. He deserves a kind end for all his years of service to man, but how?”

“I could slit his throat, but my little dagger would not suffice and it is hardly a kind way to go. I do have one thing I could do but I have never done before so I am not sure how well it will work.”

“What is it? I can help.”

“I will grind up my whole supply of poppy and inject it straight into his bloodstream. It would slow his heart and eventually stop it. At least that is my hope. Can you hold him while I search my supplies and get the injection ready? I may need to give him several. It is the kindest thing I can think of. I have heard that potassium chloride is also effective, but I do not possess anything of that sort.”

Thomas marveled at how she knew so much. He knew she possessed one medical tome, which she had wrapped up and stored in her belongings. It most likely belonged to her father and was therefore precious to her. He took his place on the road with the donkey’s head in his lap. He had no sweet things to say, so he simply hummed “Amazing Grace” and hoped that it would suffice.

The sun was beginning to lower when she returned to them. “I will put it straight into his bloodstream.”

He watched as she confidently administered the hopefully lethal dose. Once she had finished, she sat back. Her eyes were shiny with tears. “I have never put an animal down before,” she said.

“Let’s hope you never have to again. Come sit by me,” he said and patted the space beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. They both sat with the donkey until it stopped shuddering and went quiet and its eyes stared blankly. “Is he asleep or dead?”

“I will have to listen to his heart.” She scrambled to her feet and first checked that it was no longer breathing, then placed a horn-like instrument against its side and listened. After several minutes, she sat back on her knees and said, “He is gone.”

Thomas let out a breath and gently laid the donkey’s head on the ground and went to her. He wrapped his arms around her.

“It is silly. He was just a donkey,” she said as she cried into his chest.

“He is no longer suffering because of you. Take pride in that. We will take him off the road and into the shade. I’m afraid we will have to leave the cart too.”

“How will we carry everything?”

“We will manage somehow.”

“But your arm, it cannot carry such a load.”

“My arm may not but my shoulders are fine. We will just have to stay in coaching inns and barns or even out in the open as we have been until we get to La Barossa.”

“You said you had a contact in the next town?”